<p>Regarding which foreign language we take, is it not as impressive if we take our native language (the one I first learned to speak, but I know English better)? Is it better to take a language we dont know? i speak my native language fluently but can't read or write so i don't know if starting at a beginners level would look bad</p>
<p>Also, is it better to continue taking the same language we took in high school to show consistency? (Im not sure if I should continue because I didnt do great on my foreign language AP tests in HS)</p>
<p>Fluency in certain languages (most commonly Spanish) is sometimes seen as being of value (basically icing on the cake) in certain locations and it may give you a slight boost above an otherwise perfectly identical applicant if you are able to sell it in your interview, but from what I gather overall, med schools don’t really care. When I applied for PhD programs in clinical psych, it was mentioned at about half of my interviews (usually briefly, although one school brought it up repeatedly in every interview) b/c I claimed near-fluency in Spanish but I am unsure whether it will be brought up even that much at most medical schools. I have heard, though, that the UCs really like to see Spanish. If it is another language you’re asking about, I doubt it would even be brought up unless you express a lot of interest in serving your own ethnicity and they represent an underserved population that your language skills would help you in serving. (This was why Spanish was seen as valuable…)</p>
<p>vic
When I did med school in the '70s, language was required. Either Latin or German. (as those were the languages medicine was written in).</p>
<p>Then French or Spanish was recommended. Now they are not officially required.</p>
<p>Note, I said “officially”. Your application is looked upon with higher regard if you do some things outside the basic requirements and a language is a great way to do this. Especially if your college has an overseas study program.</p>
<p>Expanding on your high school language would be great unless you really hated it (then why did you stay with it in HS?). Learning your native language would be the best and would be looked upon favorably (ie, I could speak it, but not read or write it)</p>
<p>The native language I was referring to is Chinese, and the HS language - Spanish. I just wasn’t sure if med schools would look down upon someone taking Chinese starting with a beginners level since I’m already Chinese. I wasn’t bad at Spanish but I just didn’t like it very much. Should I fill my language requirement with half and half, or just stick with one?</p>
<p>I do not know whether you have known about this. At some schools, if your ethnic is Chinese, you will be placed into a (sort of) “special” intermediate level class rather than a beginning level class. The class is “special” in that all students in that class are speaking in that language fluently before they take this class. The only exception is that none of your family members (e.g., your parents) speak that language. The emphasis is on learning written language in an accelerated way, and they expect that you should be able to learn much more than students who are real beginners.</p>
<p>Otherwise, it would be too discouraging for other “genuine beginning students” to be in the same class. The school wants to avoid that. I think most top schools have a policy similar to this (unless you go to a school that lacks the resources or does not care about this problem.) Heck, some schools even allow students to AP out their foreign language requirement altogether, or just take a language test to complete this requirement. Many students from these schools can often graduate early and/or double their majors, as their core/general education requirements are very lenient. It all depends on each school’s policy.</p>
<p>I would take the one that you most likely to get an “A”. D. has 4 languages (including English), but none fluently. She had to take Placement test. She placed into 3rd year Spanish scoring way higher than highest score on a chart for placement test. She got very easy A in Spanish, since it was her HS language. Maybe you should take Placement test in both to see which one you would like to pursue.</p>